There's a problem with the chemistry in my tank. I've tried everything that I've read about, and nothing's working!

I have one male betta in a 1.5 gallon tank. It's filtered with a small Whisper charcoal filter, it has an LED light on top that I keep on about 12 hours a day, and I've been using Top Fin betta water conditioner. The gravel in the bottom was washed, but it's the kind that's dyed (purple, specifically). I've only had him for a week and a half.

I did a 25% water change yesterday (the nitrite was getting a little high, and it was time for a weekly water change anyway). When I tested the water (using Jungle Quick Dip ammonia and 5-in-1 test strips), the ammonia and nitrites were still a little high. I don't mean that they had spiked, but there was just a little bit present. Both readings were just inside the "caution" zone. To lower the levels, I dosed his tank with Ammonia Clear and added just a few more grains of aquarium salt.

This morning, his tank water was still just a bit cloudy, and the levels hadn't gone down at all... What should I do? I read that changing the water helps, but what if it's just been changed? When I changed it, I had the new water sitting out for 24 hours and had it conditioned before putting it into the tank. Please help!!! My fish is acting OK, but I'm still worried... :(

UPDATE:

Thanks so much for all the advice! I'm going to do another partial water change. Also, after using StressZyme and cutting the amount I was feeding him, the ammonia and nitrites dropped. I'm going to set up my sister's old 5 gallon tank, have it cycle for a week, and then move Braveheart (my betta) into it.

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Those strips are not the best, they can be off by ALOT.
API test kits are the way to go, they are ALOT more accurate then the strips are.
Those strips tell me that my RO/DI water is high in everything. I really would grab those tests in liquid form. I have a ammonia, nitrate and nitrite test trio unopened that I sold to someone on aquabid that never paid for them. PM me if you are interested.

Thanks so much! I'll look in to the liquid tests. I will PM you if I can't find them at my local store. Thank you again!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

no worries, you should but check the pricing, some stores jack them up for us.

First off,that tank will never be stable.its too hard to cycle anything under five gallons,but a three gallon can be a little more stable.How often do you do waterchanges?With that small a tank you should be doing at the very least 30% twice a week.Do you have a heater?He needs to stay warm,because with the imbalance in the chemestry,he will be very vulnerable to ammonia poisoning,fin rot and ich.All these of course are due to water issues.My suggestion,stop adding the ammonia block and change his water.Save the money and buy him a proper setup,three gallons at the least(five would be better).Get him a better filter,and a heater,and add live plants to help the water stability.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

Thank you!

I change the water every week (actually, this was the first week I changed it because I only got him over a week ago), but I'll try changing it more often. He does not have a heater, but I keep the temperature in the house stable, so his water is always at about 76 degrees F. I'll look into getting a five gallon tank if changing the water more often won't do anything.

Additionally, if I have to get a bigger tank, do you think it would be a good idea to get a 10 gallon and add a couple of mollies or platys? I know that they're very peaceful, and they're good fish for beginners like me.

Thanks again for the help!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

When your tank is cycling like your is and you have fish in it, changing the water is the best route. Best not to use chemicals, as stated. Water changes are just too easy. It really wouldn't matter if you had just did a water change, if your readings dictate a change, then I would just do it. Good thing about Bettas is they can handle failry low levels for some time, since they are a labyrinth fish. I would read up on the nitrogen cycle to know what your tank is going through and what is still to go through - if you haven't already.

I have studied the nitrogen cycle, but I hadn't considered that the tank might still be cycling after two weeks (one week cycling and one week with the fish in it). Thanks for the info! I was so afraid that too many water changes would hurt him, since these levels only appeared after the first water change, but I'll try another water change. Thank you!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

The cycle didn't start until the day you placed the fish in there. Ammonia (from the fish) is what starts the cycle.

I thought I was doing fishless cycling, but I guess I did it wrong...

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

You can do a fishless cycle...but the ammonia has to come from somewhere. For that type of cycle you'd either add ammonia straight to the tank or some people add some type of food that will essentially rot and create the ammonia. You have to track the progress of the cycle through testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You see the ammonia start and then peak, watch the nitrite start to rise while the ammonia goes down, then watch the nitrites peak and go down, all the while watching nitrates rise and then disappear as well. when ammonia and nitrites are at zero and you have some positive value of nitrates, your cycle has completed the circle.

I had no idea that food would add ammonia. Thank you so much!!! I'm setting up a bigger tank anyway, so I'll add some food to it and moniter the levels.

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Better to try and get some ammonia. that way you can control the levels and you're not left with a messy and stinky tank afterwards. Read through the "100% Ammonia" thread.

OK, I'll do that.

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

I for one, would like to congratulate you on taking care of your fish. Some people see them pretty much like sardines in a can. If you do the things you've talked about and follow the good advice you've received here, you'll find this hobby SO much more fun and satisfying. No telling where it'll go! ;-)

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

Thanks! I've really appreciated all the advice I got, and I'm doing my best to follow it. I know how apathetic people can be when it comes to pet care, especially fish care. When I worked at PetsMart (which was full of well-meaning but ignorant novices, myself included!), there were so many customers who came in asking for the "cheap little goldfish" because "they'll only die in a week anyway". It made me so angry! But getting and caring for a fish of my own has really made me see just how ignorant I am. I keep worrying that I'll end up killing my poor Braveheart! But he's doing well, thanks to all the information I've gotten from other forum members!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Yeah, I sometimes give the Petco, Petsmart people a hard time on this forum but I mean no harm. They do the best they can with what they have I suppose. Most don't get paid to be experts and only the ones who keep their own fish (and love it) really know much.

I've had aquariums off and on for the last 45 years and 80% of what I know now, I've learned this year. Thanks to this forum and the good folks here. I was just lucky in the past.

I also have about 20 times more fish right now than I've ever had and a total of 147.5 gallons of water in my den! I really caught the fish fever and my next tank will be 200 gallons or more. I need room for my pet Clowns and my one Bala who needs buddies.

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60g tall, all artificial plants, Rainbow tank; 55g for African Cichlids. 20g long for fry; 20g hex, 2 black Angels at my desk; 10g planted, with 50 Molly fry; 10 gal, 2x 13w cfl lightning, planted; 2g hex for "Buddy the Betta"; Wanting a 200g +, MTS getting bad.

Wow, that's a LOT! I noticed you listed a lot of fish in your signature, but citing the total really gives one an idea about just how much that is! You're also the first person I've talked to who knew that a bala shark needs more than just a gallon or two of water... I heard that one from customers, too. "But it's so small! How much bigger could it get?" Ugh...

I don't blame you for having a short temper with the retail petstore people. Most of the people I worked with were only in it because they needed money, but a few of them actually cared about the animals. I guess it's just hard to really get a good idea of what it takes to keep up with a tank from just reading about it. You have to actually do it, you know? It takes a LOT more than just browsing through some in-store pamphlets!

Good luck with the 200+ gallon tank!

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.